Stupid car tax go down 17% - wait next year to buy a new car

[sinikala]

Finland must according to EU legislation remove all those taxes on importing used cars.

And where does that read? Denmark has been in the EU before jebus rode the dinosaurs and they have 140% tax.

English
Finnish

[sammy]

On 2 car families. Are you a driver? The cost of the car is only 1 factor ... fuel, insurance, servicing, buying replacement parts are also major costs. Those families that need 2 cars will already have 2. The sales tax on a new car will not, IMHO, be the main factor in deciding if a second car will be bought.

No, we don't have a car at all - thus it's no wonder if I've left some important things out of the equation... In any case... whatever the taxation/legislation issues brewing in the background, I was merely wondering whether as a result, when all is said and done, there will just be more and more cars - despite the fact that the new ones may be cheaper and 'better for the environment' (if indeed they are that)... could as well be that the said sales taxation will not affect this at all.

[Karhunkoski]

So far you have all missed the main point (IMHO). Finland must according to EU legislation remove all those taxes on importing used cars.

Now I might be having a dim day, but I had quick read of your links and it lead me to believe that the exemption from the tax was for someone who was here

to carry out a task of definite duration

which may not include permanent residents..

The discussion later on criticised the way the depreciation % was calculated, when calculating the tax. I can't see the bit where it says Finland "must remove all taxes on importing cars".

Can you highlight the bit I've missed please.

[Hank W.]

Finland must according to EU legislation remove all those taxes on importing used cars.

And where does that read? Denmark has been in the EU before jebus rode the dinosaurs and they have 140% tax.

English
Finnish

Still doesn't *remove* the taxes. Says they need to be re-invented for special cases. Which they probably will do, I mean they are mothers of invention.

[donald]

So far you have all missed the main point (IMHO). Finland must according to EU legislation remove all those taxes on importing used cars.

No. there is NO tax on importing cars. But there is a tax to register a car. This applies for both domestic and imported cars. So everyone is treated equal and the market is fair.

...and don't say there is no such thing as a Finnish car, as there is.

[raamv]

That much is clear but what about the total amount of emissions... let's say - a family now has one car with X amount of emissions. Lo and behold: those cars that only produce 2/3 of X become cheaper... family decides, okay we'll now buy two cheap low-emission cars... -> their total emissions rise from the original amount X.

So the question is... if we forget about the cheap price... will it make any difference concerning the emissions, if people just consume more, and buy more cars? Even if they are low emission ones?

Sammy dont read too much into things...
Most families who buy them (*most) is out of neccesity..and pretty much are forced to ignore decisions on emissions as cars re pretty expensive.. so forget the emissions..n get 2 good for the money cars which has good resale value rather than 2 toyota prius..

[raamv]

on the other side with less money people could buy new cars that are with less pollution than old cars that are using now.

If you really think about it...Not much of an incentive to buy for those who cannot afford..as the prices are still expensive..
A 17% decrease as epr Hesair's Friday paper was around 3900 Decrease on Ford Mondeo for a cost of 31K Euros from 35K euros.
and most cars are going down in price by only a 1-2K lower..
which is bound to happen in the WOrldwide declining auto industry also!!

[zax]

It'll be interesting to see if:

1) the cost in the showroom really reduces by the same amount as the tax cut. Watch the dealers try to skim something from the middle, we're all used to high prices anyway.

2) the tax level for diesel fuel starts to creep slowly upwards in relation to petrol as sales of economical diesel cars rise

All has probably been carefully worked out so that the total tax take stays unchanged, or even increases. Yep, I'm a born cynic.

[raamv]

It'll be interesting to see if:
1) the cost in the showroom really reduces by the same amount as the tax cut. Watch the dealers try to skim something from the middle, we're all used to high prices anyway.

its called lisävarusteet!!! They jack up those lists very often.. now-a-days, they are even following some Texan model of giving "Cash-back"...
As most people dont know that by keeping the interest rate of cars hidden, the actual amount people pay is actually not the actual "marked" price of the car...

[odon]

have u all forgotten, that when the year 2008 cars are rolled out, there is usually an increase in the price of that model because of X, Y , z extra features as usually is the case, so in principal even with the decrease in tax, u will end up paying almost the same for a new car bought now that is 2007 year end and 2008!

[Finlander]

I'm surprised to read all the concern by certain people about whether there will be an increase in emissions due to more cars being purchased and driven. I realize that should be an issue in population-dense central Europe, but I don't think it's so important in Finland.

In my opinion, the economy and standard of living should be the first concern in Finland; not pollution by cars. With a 5-million population in such a huge country, any small increase in pollution from cars is insignificant anyway. Let's instead talk about all the airline flights to sunny & warm vacation destinations

I fully support having top-notch public transit--something Finland severely lacks--so if the economy can expand due to less car taxation, then maybe more can eventually be invested to improve service. However, even with better transit, it's difficult to rely soley on only public transit, unless you are unemployed, a student or just happen to live in a crowded city. So cars will always be necessary for many people.

Until now, purchasing an overpriced Finn-car probably precluded many people from spending even more money to use public transit as a second form of transportation. After all, if you got ripped off on your car purchase, then you've got to justify owning the car by driving it--forget about spending even more on bus passes and such.

Now, maybe people will be able to afford both car ownership AND public transit. Having both is optimal for quality of life, IMO.

Just curious, anyone know what the taxes will be on motorhomes?

[Cod]

What we need is a single invention - a battery that lasts. That would completely kill this whole debate.

It is hard to believe that since the invention of basic petrol engine we've landed on the moon and found a way to store the centuries music on a single pocket sized disk - but we still run petrol.

Its almost like somewhere, out there, somebody is pulling all the strings

[odon]

What we need is a single invention - a battery that lasts. That would completely kill this whole debate.

It is hard to believe that since the invention of basic petrol engine we've landed on the moon and found a way to store the centuries music on a single pocket sized disk - but we still run petrol.

Its almost like somewhere, out there, somebody is pulling all the strings

i agree with you, i just can't believe that untill now no one wanted to explore something other than oil !! when the oil price is going to hit 100d to a barrel...now they want to find alternative to petrol, i just want to see the rug pulled out of the fat bottom of the middle east sheihks..........

[zax]

Just wondering (I probably missed this bit somewhere in the details)... how does the taxation of used (imported) cars change under this scheme? Registration tax based on emissions or does it remain the same as it is now?

Not sure what the co2 emissions of a '69 Dodge Charger would be

[mCowboy]

Just wondering (I probably missed this bit somewhere in the details)... how does the taxation of used (imported) cars change under this scheme? Registration tax based on emissions or does it remain the same as it is now?

Not sure what the co2 emissions of a '69 Dodge Charger would be

I believe that older cars would be taxed based on weight.